A tale of two hurricanes

We have had 2 hurricane scares this hurricane season, and both have left us fairly unscathed, much to our relief. When you own an island resort in the Caribbean, you don’t look forward to hurricane season. Each July we start to get nervous, and don’t feel completely relaxed until November 1, when I proclaim hurricane season officially “over”. Only 4 more days to go!

Tropical storm Matthew passed very near our island on September 25, with sustained winds of 40 miles an hour. The most profound change was to the small sand bar just off our caye. Past guests will remember this sand bar because we conduct snorkel orientation just off this small bit of land. Well, this sand bar is no more! Damage during that storm also included damage to our surf dock, damage to the foundation on 2 cabanas which need to be re-cemented, and sand moved around and lots of seaweed washed up on the beach.

Hurricane Richard passed on a similar track, within 50 miles of our island, on October 24. This Category 1 storm had sustained winds of 75 mph. We were very surprised to learn that the damage from this storm was not as bad as the damage Matthew caused. In one instance we actually gained beach by cabana #6 that has been gone since 1998!

Our kayak beach by the sea kayak palapa lost a lot of sand with Matthew, as the storm surge washed away a lot of the beach, exposing roots. Richard put the sand back! (see photos.)